This is my second crossover. The Sorcerous Empire has now entered the world of Attack on Titan.
A world where humanity is forced to live in three giant walled cities. which protects them from giant man-eating humanoids referred to as Titans.
But his...
Earlier that morning, Petra had checked the smoke canisters and loaded them onto the saddle before mounting up for the midday patrol. The Scouting Regiment was in unfamiliar territory, north and west of the walls, and Levi's squad was riding the flank; the least mapped and therefore most dangerous territory. The 103rd Cadet Corp was no longer green, but they weren't exactly seasoned either, and orders or no, they tended to bunch up in the center, drawing Titans in like a magnet. To make it worse, the horses had run hard yesterday. They needed a rest. The entire corps was camping for the day.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Once she spotted Oruo heading in from the morning patrol, she mounted up and rode out to meet him. "How is it out there?"
The full report would go the Captain Levi, of course, but the terse, heads-up version was always helpful. "Dead as your dating life," he said. "You won't close on my kill score today."
"You are such a pompous ass," she rolled her eyes. But the sly comment was comforting. Oruo was good at this and if he hadn't seen Titan signs, there probably weren't any to be seen. She squeezed her legs and the horse took off at a light trot.
Only a few years ago, these gently rolling hills had been prime pasture land, providing the people inside Wall Maria with meat and dairy. Petra wondered if maybe on the return trip, they couldn't round up some of the stray cattle and bring them back. The meat and leather would fetch a good price and help pay for the Scouting Regiment's expedition. Who didn't miss real meat? She'd mention the idea to Captain Levi or Commander Erwin when she got the chance.
She reined in the horse when she got to the top of the hill. Oruo was right, you could see for miles. The only decent stand of trees was the one where Commander Erwin had set up the main encampment. To one side, she could see the Levi Squad's camp, to the other, the Hange's. She turned outwards. Also clear.
Or ... wait
A strange motion caught her eyes She turned back to watch the distant tree line. They were mixed trees, different types, different heights, so they all moved differently in response to the slight breeze. But still, there was something... Petra had seen wind drive waves in the grass, was this just...?
There it was again. A wave in the trees. Moving the sturdy trees as well as the willowy ones. Then a flash of something light, the color of sapwood. She dropped her eyes just in time to see a tree trunk move. Not swaying in the wind, but swinging like a pendulum. She loaded a red smoke canister and fired into the air as she spurred her horse into a gallop.
....
"Red smoke, Commander!"
Erwin turned to face him. "Which unit?"
The young lieutenant shrugged his ignorance. "Halfway between Levi and Hange, sir."
"Well, neither of those two are likely to make mistakes. Tell the new recruits to arm up, saddle up, and prepare to break camp. In that order."
...
"Red smoke, Commander Hange!"
"Our patrol?"
"Levi's ma'am."
"I doubt they'll leave us anything to mop up, but we'd better go take a look."
...
"Red smoke, Captain."
"Petra?"
"Yes sir."
Levi nodded. "Saddle up. We'll come back for the camp supplies if we can."
....
The Titan broke the cover of the trees with that curious side-to-side waddle so many of them had. It slowed down and cocked its head with that sickening childlike expression that told Petra a human was about to die.
She loaded fresh blades into her sword hilts as the horse cleared the rise.
A guy, stood his ground against the Titan. He had a sword in each hand, but no spare blades.
The Titan was standing there, dumbly considering the man. Its midsection had been sliced open, half a meter deep. It held its guts in with a handless arm. The lost appendage was half-steamed into nothingness, indicating the man had wasted no time in mindless terror. The Titan's abdomen and legs bore dozens of cut marks, but without ODM gear, the man had no way of reaching the nape. It reached for the man with its remaining hand. She stood in the saddle and with a shout, launched the grappling hook into the Titan's shoulder and reeled herself in. She sliced the joint, causing the arm to sag uselessly then turned and took the nape.
The Titan crumpled under her. She shifted her balance and rode the falling monster to the ground. It was a trick she had picked up from Captain Levi, but it was oddly satisfying. "Suck it, Oruo!" she crowed. "That makes 10 solo." She hopped down and looked at the man in black. "Or did you want to share credit on that one?"
"No," the guy said, "that one was pretty much yours."
He eyed the steaming carcass.
"Head and the neck, huh?"
"Just the nape of the neck," she corrected him.
"Strike zone is one meter long, ten centimeters wide, you gotta cut deep enough to sever the spinal cord. Anyway, What are you doing out here ?"
"Ah. My name is Ainzo. I was actually looking for the nearest settlement here"
"Settlement!? Do you want to go to town?"
"Yes. May I know your name?"
"Oh! Sorry. My name is Petra."
She put two fingers between her lips and gave a long whistle. Very shortly, her horse cantered up, then slowed and bumped her affectionately with its nose. She rubbed its neck and looked at Ainzo.
The black swordsman just shrugged. "No horse. I'm not a good rider."
Petra bit her lip to avoid saying anything. This man had been stranded out in Titan country with no horse, no ODM gear, no spare blades, and no knowledge of how to kill a Titan. Someone was trying to murder this man. Sick bastard. As if humanity wasn't on the brink of extinction without twisted people trying to speed up the process.
"If you don't have a horse, then you better ride with me. Titans are fast and you can't outrun them on open ground."
She mounted and he jumped lightly onto the horse behind her.
"Where are we going?"
It was a good question. She calculated how long to get to camp to drop the man off and back out on patrol. Too long. She hated putting a civilian at risk, but her duty was to watch for Titans while the main body of the regiment rested.
"I need to finish riding this patrol. I'm with the Special Operations Squad of the Survey Corps. We're out here mapping the territory."
...
Comment your opinion
Also let me know if you have any suggestions on how I can make this story more interesting.
